What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee
I'll try to give as much info as I know, as I'm trying to help my wife's mother find out what she is dealing with.
My mother-in-law is on disability. She has a male friend who recently passed away this past month who was also on disability.
Before he died, because of his health situation, my mother-in-law made the mistake of loaning him some money & giving him a handful of Lortab/Hydrocodone pills because he had taken all of his prescribed pills & still had a few days to go before he could get more from his doctor.
Obviously, being ignorant of the law is no excuse. But in all honesty, my M-I-L was acting out of kindness, felt sorry for a friend in pain, and gave him a few pills.
Now that he has died, his sister (primary caretaker) is angry & hurt, which is understandable. She found out that he was abusing his meds before he died, and is lashing out at those around him who she feels like may have contributed to his death.
Being in a critical health condition and already having been prescribed controlled substances, it's probably hearsay if she believes that friends giving him extra meds contributed to his death.
However, she is threatening to turn my mother-in-law in to the authorities, as well as anyone else in his life that may have given him pills.
Unfortunately, you don't get extra credit for being honest in this situation. When the sister asked my mother-in-law if she had given her brother meds, my M-I-L should have probably declined to answer her for legal reasons.
But she was honest with her, and told her "yes," that she did give him a Lortabs because she felt badly for him.
So I guess my question is, in the state of Tennessee, would my M-I-L still be in danger of being charged for a crime even if she wasn't selling the drugs & was simply trying to help someone?
I've heard that distribution of narcotics is a felony, even if you aren't selling. So that basically means that it's illegal to give someone pills, even if you know them & there isn't a "drug deal" involved.
My mother-in-law is obviously worried about getting in trouble, and I'm wondering what I should tell her to do that might healp set her mind at ease.
Not being a lawyer, I've simply told her not to worry about it... And if for some reason an investigator contacts her, she should probably not answer any questions until she is able to consult with an attorney. Unfortunately, being on disbaility with a fixed income, retaining a lawyer isn't a real option unless it's necessary.
Anyone have any input or advice that might help in this situation?
Thanks so much!
I'll try to give as much info as I know, as I'm trying to help my wife's mother find out what she is dealing with.
My mother-in-law is on disability. She has a male friend who recently passed away this past month who was also on disability.
Before he died, because of his health situation, my mother-in-law made the mistake of loaning him some money & giving him a handful of Lortab/Hydrocodone pills because he had taken all of his prescribed pills & still had a few days to go before he could get more from his doctor.
Obviously, being ignorant of the law is no excuse. But in all honesty, my M-I-L was acting out of kindness, felt sorry for a friend in pain, and gave him a few pills.
Now that he has died, his sister (primary caretaker) is angry & hurt, which is understandable. She found out that he was abusing his meds before he died, and is lashing out at those around him who she feels like may have contributed to his death.
Being in a critical health condition and already having been prescribed controlled substances, it's probably hearsay if she believes that friends giving him extra meds contributed to his death.
However, she is threatening to turn my mother-in-law in to the authorities, as well as anyone else in his life that may have given him pills.
Unfortunately, you don't get extra credit for being honest in this situation. When the sister asked my mother-in-law if she had given her brother meds, my M-I-L should have probably declined to answer her for legal reasons.
But she was honest with her, and told her "yes," that she did give him a Lortabs because she felt badly for him.
So I guess my question is, in the state of Tennessee, would my M-I-L still be in danger of being charged for a crime even if she wasn't selling the drugs & was simply trying to help someone?
I've heard that distribution of narcotics is a felony, even if you aren't selling. So that basically means that it's illegal to give someone pills, even if you know them & there isn't a "drug deal" involved.
My mother-in-law is obviously worried about getting in trouble, and I'm wondering what I should tell her to do that might healp set her mind at ease.
Not being a lawyer, I've simply told her not to worry about it... And if for some reason an investigator contacts her, she should probably not answer any questions until she is able to consult with an attorney. Unfortunately, being on disbaility with a fixed income, retaining a lawyer isn't a real option unless it's necessary.
Anyone have any input or advice that might help in this situation?
Thanks so much!